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"Proof that Islam is the truth'' [15] : Signs of the last days
Assalamaleykum Arahmatullahi va Barakatu, may the peace and blessing of Allah be among all of you & may He guide all of us to the right path & to the truth. Today it's our last & final article of the proof that Islam is the Truth. We've been through many different amazing things. But the last thing we are going to finish with today are some of the signs of the last day. Things that the Prophet Muhammad said that would happen before the end of time and of course the first thing the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam said, the first thing that he said would be the first thing of the signs of the last days is his death & the last day is soon upon us. & that's what the prophet said then 1400 years ago, how close must it be now.
Let's look at some other things the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him said in various narrations. First of all the Prophet Muhammad mentioned that amongst the signs of the last day is that you would see the barefooted Bedouins compete with each other in building tall buildings. This is remarkable because I invite anybody to look & go & visit Dubai & Waldabi, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain. These are places where 60 years ago I remember when I was in Kenya and they were complaining how there was no more money coming from Saudi Arabia after 9/11 & so on & so forth. & they were saying well you know 60 years ago we used to send money to Saudi Arabia to help the orphans & the Madrasas there. Now you will find the people who only 60 years ago were barefooted Bedouins competing with each other in who can build the tallest building in the world in fact it's said there's going to be six of the tallest buildings in the world in Dubai in the years to come. This is something the Prophet Muhammad was predicting 1400 years ago. It is truly a sign of the last days.
The Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam also mentioned that the Mosques would become like palaces. And this is the case even though the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam ordered simplicity in the houses of Allah the fact is that they've become more & more fantastic & more & more money is being spent on these Mosques with domes & floors & golden domes & floors & everything to match with so much lavish chandeliers, & carpets, like palaces as the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam said would happen.
Also the Prophet mentioned that trustworthiness would disappear so much so that the person would be able to say "I know a trustworthy person in such & such town." Are you asking yourself if maybe that is not the case today? Also the Prophet mentioned that there will be increase in killing, the Prophet called it "Hardge" to the extent that the one who is being killed & the one who is killing they don't even know. The one who is being killed doesn't know why he is being killed, the one who is killing doesn't know why he is doing the killing. I think this is describing the condition of some cities today where kids are shooting people. The person has no idea why he was shot, in fact people are being shot merely just to prove themselves or for any type of madness that you can imagine. Not even to mention the massacres of so many people that is taking place due to terrorism whether it is the terrorism of countries or the terrorism of organisations & individuals. We shouldn't really make a difference – it's all terror when women & children & innocents get killed – it's terror by the hands of whoever it is. People do not know why they are killing or why they are being killed to such an extent that it is unimaginable just as the Prophet Muhammad predicted 1400 years ago.
Also the Prophet mentioned that there will be the increase in the use of ribba which means usually interest, credit cards, mortgages, things like that. In fact to the extent that no one would be able to escape the dust of it. Everybody will be affected by it. And this is without doubt the truth of the world economy today, the whole world economy is affected & controlled by banks & the use of interest money even though in Islam it is totally prohibited, even though in Christianity up until the 16th – 17th century ribba was forbidden, in Christendom as well but yet today it is something that controls the world economy to the extent that no one can escape it just as the Prophet Muhammad predicted 1400 years ago.
The Prophet also said that there will be an increase in literacy in fact so many people will be able to read & write that actually knowledge will decrease. Isn't that a type of paradox? More people will read & what do we end up reading most of us we read rubbish, we read rubbish stuff but we can read, but knowledge, especially knowledge of the religion despite of the fact that more people can read, ignorance has become prevailing. And this is what the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam said: "That religious knowledge would decrease not by the books disappearing, not by you know knowledge being taken from the minds of the people. No, the knowledge in the sense of the books will be there but the scholars, so that only the ignorant people will remain. And people will ask them for religious verdicts and they will give it even though they are ignorant, and they will misguide themselves & misguide others. Anyone acquainted with the Muslim world today will be familiar with this. And the Prophet mentioned: "The speakers will be many & the scholars will be few." And this is what we can find exactly. There are many speakers, many thinkers, many intellectuals, many people Alhamdullilah giving Davah, maybe not enough people but to scholars they are so few and this is a type of sign of the last day when the scholars will be taken away & this is exactly what we find happening.
Also the Prophet Muhammad SAAS said that there'll be going to be such an increase in musical instruments & Muslims will make it lawful even though it is forbidden, the use of musical instruments it has been forbidden by the Prophet some Muslims people will make it lawful & there are many people who are saying it's allowed even though it is very clearly mentioned in Sahih Al Buhari, the most authentic collection of hadith & this is mentioned here, this hadith where the Prophet predicted that the people will make it lawful even though the Prophet made it unlawful. And it's come true just as the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him said.
Also he mentioned there'll be an increase in sexual promiscuity even though Islam is a religion that teaches chastity that a man and a woman should confine themselves to marriage. The Prophet said there'll be an increase in sexual promiscuity & I don't think anyone can deny that that is the state of the world today with highly sexualized images & even traditional societies that normally had good traditional moral values. For example like India, even in India for example promiscuity is becoming more & more common, hardly than it ever was before. Even in Muslim countries where the whole idea of sexual promiscuity is so against the teachings of Islam it is unfortunately becoming more & more common, & the Prophet Muhammad said that because of these diseases would appear that people had never heard of before. Isn't that the case? Aids for example, diseases that people had never heard of before will arise due to sexual promiscuity. And this has taken place just as the Prophet Muhammad predicted Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam. He mentioned that women will be naked although they are dressed. I don't think this is a better way of describing the dress of some women today which in all but means is nakedness, with the clothes that are so tight they describe every shape of the body which this technology did not exist to make those type of clothes in the time of the Prophet, yet the Prophet Muhammad is describing how this nakedness among the women will become prevalent.
And also the Prophet mentioned that there will be shouting in the Mosque, something that is prohibited in Islam & it's something I have witnessed myself.
And also the Prophet said the worst & the most ignorant people will become the leaders & really I have to say if we look at some of the world leaders today even at some of the superpowers it seems as if what the Prophet said about the worst & most ignorant people becoming leaders seems to have taken place exactly as the Prophet Muhammad said.
Also he mentioned that a man will obey his wife & disobey his mother, something really contrary to the teachings of Islam. He will rather listen to his friends than listen to his father. And this is something that we have found happening in the Muslim World even though this is so against the teachings of Islam.
Men will wear gold & silk & they will make it lawful even though the Prophet has made it unlawful. People will abandon the religion of Islam for a small worldly gain & keeping on to the religion will be like holding two hot coals. I'm mentioning all of these things & there are many-many more things that the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam mentioned. But these are some of the small signs concerning the events that will take place before the last day. And as we can see these things that I have gone through almost without exception they have come true in a way that is so-so clear & so-so obvious & so-so apparent.
I want to spend a little bit of time talking about some of the authenticated miracles of the Prophet Muhammad, I mean of course the greatest miracle that was given to the prophet Muhammad was the Quran. But there are many authenticated miracles & it is not often known & mentioned that were done through the Prophet Muhammad by the power of God. For example even at the birth of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him when he was taken by the witness Halima & she was the only one willing to take him, even though he was an orphan. Because he was an orphan no one was really expecting that they would get any reward & they will get well-paid, but Halima, his witness, & that was the tradition of the Arabs, they used to send their babies out into the desert where it is more healthy to be nursed by the Bedouin women & Halima, she took this responsibility even though she was not really expecting much reward. And from the moment she did this she found that everything changed, even the goats in her tribe started to get fatter, wherever they went there was grass for them to feed, she herself became stronger & more healthy & was producing more milk & as long as the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam was with her she found these blessings happen in fact she commented to her husband & to the tribe that surely we had been given a blessed child.
When the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam before he was a Prophet, one of the things that would happen was the stones would speak to him & they would say to him Muhammad you are the Messenger of Allah & this is the type of things that would happen these are some miracles & true & authentic miracles that happened to the Prophet.
As earlier mention today we are talking about the authenticated miracles of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him, things that were witnessed by his companions who lived with him & saw these things & recorded them & we have these things until today. And we are only mentioning a few because we don't have too much time we can't go thoroughly into every single one, so we are just mentioning a few of them.
There's one famous incident. When the Prophet Muhammad when he used to deliver the sermon, the Friday sermon, in the mosque in Medina. There is a certain post which he used to lean against. But then he decided it would be better if he stood on a type of pulpit & so they had constructed some steps & the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam would walk up & climb & stand on those steps & he would deliver his sermon from there. & when he walked up & climbed on the steps the post that he used to lean on began, a sound came out of it like a crying sound & the Prophet went & stroke this, the post was crying because the Prophet Muhammad was not leaning on it any more. And this is how the sadness that post felt because the Prophet had left it is amazing thing how this crying noise was heard coming out of the post.
There are many narrations that are reported where animals used to come & complain to the Prophet Muhammad. There's one example when some companions had stolen the eggs from the nest of a bird & this bird was seen flapping round the head of the Prophet Muhammad. & the Prophet said who are those people who have stolen the eggs from the nest of the bird & he told them to return it that his mama is distressed because of whet you have done. Also a camel complained to the Prophet Muhammad that its owner was overloading it, & from this the Prophet Muhammad warned us & told us not even to oppress the animals under our care, & that we should be careful not to overburden them with more than that they are able to take.
There is a famous & beautiful story how Abu Hureira who was one of the companions of the Prophet used to feel so hungry sometimes used to faint at the door of the mosque & people used to tread on him because they thought he was mad. And one day he went to Abu Bakr & he didn't want to tell anyone that he was really almost dying of hunger. So he went & he asked Abu Bakr a question about the Quran, hoping that Abu Bakr would recognise his weakness, but he didn't, & he went to Omar & the same thing happened. But when he went to the Prophet straight away the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam said come with me. He told Abu Hureira to come with him & he went to his house and he asked his wives: "What do we have in the house to eat?" They had nothing except a bowl of milk. This is the house of the Messenger of God. In the house of the messenger of God among all his wives all they had to drink between them is a bowl of milk. & he said give it to me. Then he said to Abu Huraira: "Go & get the people of the bench". Now the people of the bench were all the poor people who use to sleep next to the Mosque. And Abu Hureira was thinking: "If I call them there's not going to be enough milk for me. There's hardly enough milk for me let alone to feed all the people of the bench." But then he thought: "I must obey the order of the Prophet Muhammad". So he said: "Ok I would do it because even, because this is what the Prophet said." So he called them. And the Prophet got Abu Hureira to sit on his left. And now in Islam when we pass something we pass it from the right & so the Prophet passed his bowl of milk from the right went around all the people. And every time Aby Hureira was thinking: "There's not going to be enough milk left for me, there's not going to be enough milk left for me." And eventually when the milk got to him he drank from the milk & then the Prophet Muhammad said: "Drink again." And he drank again. And then the third time the Prophet said: "Drink again." And Abu Hureira said: "I can't drink I am full." This is a miracle of course how the small amount of milk was so much to feed so many people. And this is not the only time such an event happened.
Also the Prophet made a miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem & up from Jerusalem through the heavens where Allah gave him the five prayers & he saw many wonderful signs in the heavens. Now many people when they heard this they actually started to disbelief in Islam. They came to Abu Bakr, they said: "Oh, Abu Bakr, you know what your friend is saying now? He said he went on a journey to Jerusalem in one night & then went up through the heavens. Abu Bakr said: "If that's what the Prophet said he did - it happened because he never lies." Anyway people started saying: "Prove to us that this is the case." So the Prophet Muhammad he described a caravan that he had seen on the way, meaning a caravan, you know, of camels, and a trade caravan. He described this caravan & what it looked like & he also described to the people Jerusalem & what it was like. Two days later the caravan arrived & it was exactly how the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him had described it. And then when the people asked the caravan they had come from Jerusalem & they described to the people how was Jerusalem & it matched exactly their description of the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam.
Of course another great miracle that was given to the Prophet Muhammad was the splitting of the moon. The pagan Arabs kept asking the Prophet for a sign, kept asking him for a sign, so he, eventually Allah gave him this sign & the moon was split in two, where the two parts of the moon were on each side of the horizon. Of course the pagan Arabs did still not believe in spite of all of that.
Anyway those are just some of the miracles of the Prophet Muhammad which Allah gave to him. And I'm only mentioning them by way of completeness because of course really for those of you who are thinking, for those of you who are thinking deeply out whole series has been about something really miraculous. Those proofs & evidences that we have presented you through which & by which you might know that the Quran is truly what it claims to be - the word of God, that Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him is what he claimed to be - the final Messenger of God, of Allah, sent for the benefit (блага) and the mercy of all of mankind. We have discussed matters rational & matters mysterious, we have talked about all sorts of wonderful things, but the question I need to ask you now. What is preventing you from accepting the truth that there's nothing worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him is indeed the final messenger of Allah? Is it fear? Are you afraid? What will the people say if I become Muslim? What will people say about me? What will happen to me at work? What will happen to me at school? What will happen to me at my home with my parents? Is this what is preventing you from accepting the truth? Oh my dear people! You should be more afraid of Allah. You should be more afraid of your Lord. You should be more afraid of the punishment of the hellfire that awaits those people who reject truth.
A fire where Allah will burn the skin & recreate the skin so that people can taste the punishment, a place where water, boiling water will be poured on people's faces that will burn the faces & burn out the insides. This is the punishment saved for those people who reject truth. Is it not more appropriate & worthy that you should be afraid of that? Are you not afraid that Allah will send a punishment upon you that he did sent the punishment upon Noah & his people, about the people of Sodom & Gomorra, the people of Lot, the Prophet Lot? Are you not afraid of the chastisement will come from your Lord in this life? Maybe it is arrogance. Maybe it is pride. Maybe you think that the virtue of belonging to a certain tribe or a certain nation or a certain country. Maybe you think you are so powerful, but Allah is more powerful. Have you not travelled the Earth & see what has happened to those people before? Civilisations, strong & power & might. And what is left of them? Ruins. Where did all their science & their technology & their wisdom & their intelligence lead them, if it did not take them to the belief & the acceptance of the truth, that Allah is the true object of worship, that Muhammad is the true Messenger? Maybe it is my dear people that you are not sincere, you do not care about truth.
You only care about the things of this world. But you should care. You should care about the things of this world because the true happiness of this world is in obeying your Lord & knowing your Lord & worshiping your Lord. How many people of this world leave it & they never taste it, the sweetest thing in life, the sweetest thing in this life is to know Allah & to follow his religion & his guidance that he sent down. All I can say ultimately is that Allah has guided me to Islam & it is the happiest & the best & the most complete way of life a human being could ever live. I just ask you to do one thing. Pray. With your heart, with your soul, with your mind. Ask & pray God in humility, in sincerity. Raise your hands & say & beg: "Oh, God! Guide me to the Truth, open my heart to the truth, if Islam is the truth guide me to it & make me happy with it & help me to follow it & help me to be a sincere Muslim if it is the truth, oh God, Creator of the Heavens & the Earth!" May Allah guide me, you always to the truth, Assalamaleykum Arahmatullahi va Barakatu, may the peace & blessings of Allah be with you always.
Nasir Pasha
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"Proof that Islam is the truth'' [13] : Muhammad PBUH in the Bible (Part 2)
Assalamaleykum Arahmatullahi va Barakatu. May the peace & blessings of Almighty God be upon all of you. Welcome back to the proof that Islam is the Truth. And we are talking today about Muhammad in the Bible. We've been going through some of those verses in the Bible that indicate, that show, that might show us that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah foretold in those scriptures. Certainly there are people of the book, Rabbis, Christian Priests, Emperors who recognised Muhammad for what he was, may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him, the last & final Messenger.
Let's have a look at Isaac, the book of Isaac in the Bible. And in the 29th chapter in the 12th verse there's something remarkable here & it says: "And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned" This passage is remarkable. First of all Prophet Muhammad is referred to as the "unlettered prophet", the "unlearned Prophet". The Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him couldn't read & he couldn't write. He did not study scripture, not like Jesus who was brought up amongst the rabbis & even at the young age he amazed people with his learning of the law. So Jesus may God's peace & blessings be upon him was learned in the law.
But Muhammad lived in Arabia, a pagan land. People did not know about the scripture, except for a few people amongst the children of Israel, some Jewish tribes who lived there. Otherwise they were ignorant of that & the Prophet himself was not learned in the scripture & he is called "ummi". Ummi means not learned. And so it's exactly as the Bible is saying, the book, & one of the names of the Quran is "Al Kitab", the Book, is delivered to him who is not learned who is "ummi" saying read this. "Read this" in Arabic "ikkara", read this "ikkara" the very first verses that God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him as every Muslim knows. What was it? "Ikkara" - read. The angel Gabriel comes to the Prophet Muhammad while the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam he is meditating on the mountain the Jabal-al-noor the mountain of light overlooking Mecca.
He is sitting there meditating, he has escaped the troubles of Mecca, the polytheism, he goes there to think about God, about Creation, about humanity. And it is there that he receives on the night of Ramadan in his 40th birthday he receives, the angel Gabriel comes to him, says to him: "ikkara" & the Prophet says "I can't read." Again the angel Gabriel says: "ikkara" but this time he takes the Prophet & squeezes him & again the Prophet says "I cannot read." Now the angel Gabriel squeezes him even more tightly & says: "ikkara" - read! The Prophet says: "What shall I read?" So this is exactly what happens. The Prophet says: "I'm not learned, I cannot read. How can I read? I'm not of those who can read." This is exactly how it is mentioned in Isaac 29-12. Check it out for yourself & I must admit that when I first was reading the life history of Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him as a Christian who used to be familiar with the Bible, I remember that passage from the Bible & how exactly it fitted the passage I was reading about the life of Prophet Muhammad & what happened in this event that I have just described- it was truly remarkable.
Also Isaac in the 42nd chapter, verses 1 to 13, I'm not going to read the whole of it but it refers & speaks about someone who is beloved to God. And he is mentioned as being from the descendant of Kedar. Now who is Kedar? Kedar is in fact the second son of Ishmael, a direct ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him. It seems very clear from these statements in the Old Testament that the Jews were expecting a Prophet to arise amongst the children of Israel, descending from Kedar, that he will bring a law, he will be like unto Moses & that obviously many Christians who had studied the old testament or what they had or whatever scriptures they had, recognised these attributes as well.
How about the Gospels, do we have any hints as to the coming of Prophet Muhammad in the Gospels? Well, there is a passage; it is quite a controversial passage even to tell you the truth amongst Christians. But let's read it. It's in John, in the book of John, the Gospel of John, in the 14th chapter & it is the 16th verse & it goes: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever". So the word as we find it in English is "comforter". There's a lot of controversy about what is the actual Greek "paraclitos", what does this word actually mean? But some scholars have said that the word actually in Aramaic means Ahmed. Ahmed is indeed the very name that is mentioned in the Quran of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him, that's one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, "Ahmed". And this is the name that he is referred to in the Quran & the Quran says that Gospels refer to him as Ahmed. And actually the word Ahmed in Aramaic means "the comforter" or it is similar to the word, Greek word "Paraclitos" that is used there. And it's interesting that he will abide with you forever, the final comforter, after this there will not be another.
Let's look again. Let's look in John 15 in the verse 26: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me". Another fact of course that Prophet Muhammad testified to Jesus. The Quran mentions about Jesus & the Prophet Muhammad made it, & Allah has made it a part of our religion that we cannot be a Muslim unless we believe in Jesus. Of course we believe in Jesus as we believe he truly was a Prophet of God & the Messiah to the children of Israel. Not as it is falsely claimed "heart of God" & the "son of God" which we believe is a blasphemy against God.
So John 14:26 tells us "But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." And John 16 in 7 to 14 verses says: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and righteousness, and of judgment." An important thing I want to mention here. Some Christians claim that comforter is the holy spirit, the holy spirit that inspires them & helps them to speak in tongues, & so on, & this is the holy spirit, they claim that, you know, fills them & guides them.
However there is a problem with this. Because Jesus says "if I do not go away, the holy spirit will not be able to come". Yet the holy spirit is with the disciples while Jesus is there as well. So to say that this comforter is exactly the holy spirit in the sense that Christians understand it doesn't seem to fit the verses. In fact if we understand the holy spirit to be the angel Gabriel, that's what Muslims believe "Ruh Al Kuddus" is the holy spirit, "ruh" - spirit, "kuddus" - holy. "Ruh Al Kuddus" is in fact the same, one & the same Angel Gabriel who brings down the revelation. So the new revelation will not come, the holy spirit will not come with a new revelation untill Jesus has left, so Jesus has to go for the Comforter, the Ahmed, for Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam to come. And it says "and he will reprove the world of sin, and of judgement & of righteousness "And sin "because they don't believe in me" meaning they don't believe in Jesus truly, as the Messiah. Not as God & the son of God. No. This is a false believe about Jesus. They don't believe in Jesus as the Messiah that was foretold in their scriptures.
"Of righteousness because I go to my Father & you will see me no more", in other words if there's no Prophet with the people then it is so much harder for them follow God's guidance & to be righteous, & "of judgement because the price of this world is, the prince of this world is judged. And I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, he shall speak." Do you remember that? What we read from Isaac? What we read from Deuteronomy 18-18? It is the same words repeating themselves. "He does not speak of himself" - he does not speak by his own desires, he speaks what is revealed to him. Jesus is repeating those words, & "he will show you things to come" (16:13). And one of the things we are going to be showing you in a forthcoming episode, are the prophesies of the Prophet Muhammad, how the Prophet foretold about the things that are going to come to pass & we can see those things happening right in front of us these days. "And he shall glorify me" meaning he shall glorify Jesus. How? By telling the truth about Jesus & keeping people away from the lies that have been told about Jesus "for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you" (16:14).
These controversy we admit about these passages even amongst Christians it is very controversial but it is interesting that Rudolf Bultmann in the Gospel of John, a commentary he says: "The Paraclete is a parallel figure to Jesus himself; and this conclusion is confirmed in the fact that the title is suitable for both." Meaning both Jesus & the Comforter. So he must be like Jesus, he must be similar to Jesus & it is similar to Jesus. And "It is clear from 14:16 that the source thought there were sendings of two Paracletes, Jesus and his successor, the one following the other". So what we see as I have described how this description of the Comforter is so suitable for the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him.
And it is perhaps these verses in the chapter in the, sorry the Gospel of John that those Christians understood as to be referring to the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. Certainly when you combine those things with the other prophesies & the Old Testament that we have been talking about in Deuteronomy & how "God will make a great nation out of Ishmael". Who on Earth could that great nation from Ismail be if it is not the Prophet Muhammad & his companions, & a great civilisation founded upon the belief in the One God, the worship of the One God, the creator of the Heavens & the Earth. The Quran that calls us to respect & love Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Noah, the Prophets sent to the children of Israel, they are mentioned in the Quran. Who else could it be? Who else is this great nation if it is not the Ummah, the nation of Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him. So I hope if you are a Christian or if you are perhaps a Jew watching this, this is giving you something to think about. Certainly the Muslims I'm sure, their faith will only be enhanced & increased because of these amazing things.
Now I'm going to read a really a fantastic, it's a long story, it's an amazing story & it's well worth reading. And it's the story of a man called Anselm Tormeeda. And he was a priest & a Christian Scholar. And he was a person who wrote a book. He converted to Islam & he wrote a book "the gift to the intelligent or refuting the arguments of the Christians" & in the introduction to his book he writes the story of how he became Muslim. It's really fascinating & especially in respect to the Paraclete, & who is the Paraclete. So let's go through it. It's a long story, a fantastic story, I'll do my best to get through it, make it interesting. first of all this Anselm was born in a city of Majorka & as he mentions he describes Mayorka, & that big merchant ships used to come there, to the harbour with different goods.
And he is mentioning that the city is a city & an island both at the same time. Now he says that his father was a well-respected man in the city & that he was his only son. And when he was six he was sent to a priest who taught him the Gospel & logic. That's obviously common in those times that the priests in fact were the only people who were really learned, & they could read & write. And there were also many of them well-instructed in philosophy. So he learned the Gospel & logic & which he finished in six years. So this is by the time that he was twelve. "I lived in the church with an aged priest. He was greatly respected by the people because of his knowledge and religiousness and asceticism, which distinguished him from the other Christian priests.
Questions and requests for advice came from everywhere, from Kings and rulers, along with presents and gifts. They hoped that he would accept their presents and grant them his blessings. This priest taught me the principles of Christianity and its rulings. I became very close to him by serving and assisting him with his duties until I became one of his most trusted assistants, so that he trusted me with the keys of his room in the church and of the food and the drink stores. He kept for himself only the key of a small room where he used to sleep. I think, and Allah knows best, that he kept his treasure chest in there. I was a student and a servant for a period of ten years, then he fell ill and failed to attend the meetings of his fellow priests.
During his absence, the priests discussed some religious matters, until they came to what was said by the Almighty Allah through his prophet Jesus in the Gospel: "After him will come a Prophet called Paraclete." " - It's interesting that he says: " "After him will come a Prophet called Paraclete." They argued a great deal about this Prophet and as to who he was among the Prophets. Everyone gave his opinion according to his knowledge and understanding; and they ended without achieving any benefit in that issue. I went to my priest, and as usual he asked about what was discussed in the meeting that day. I mentioned to him the different opinions of the priests about the name Paraclete, and how they finished the meeting without clarifying the matter. He asked me: "What was your answer?" I gave my opinion which was taken from interpretation of a well known exegesis. He said that I was nearly correct like some priests, and the other priests were wrong. "But the truth is different from all of that. This is because the interpretation of that noble name is only known to a small number of very well versed scholars.
And we posses only a little knowledge." I fell down and kissed his feet, saying: "Sir, you know that I travelled and came to you from a far distant country, I have served you now for more than ten years; and have attained knowledge beyond estimation, so please favour me and tell me the truth about this name." The priest then wept and said: "My son, by God, you are very much dear to me for serving me and devoting yourself to my care. Know the truth about this name, and there is a great benefit, but there is also a great danger. And I fear that when you know this truth, and the Christians discover that, you will be killed immediately." I said: "By God, by the Gospel and He who was sent with it, I shall never speak any word about what you will tell me, I shall keep it in my heart." He said: "My son, when you came here from your country, I asked you if it is near to the Muslims, and whether they made raids against you and if you made raids against them. This was to test your hatred for Islam.
Know, my son, that Paraclete is the name of their Prophet Muhammad, to whom was revealed the fourth book as mentioned by Daniel. His way is the clear way which is mentioned in the Gospel." I said: "Then sir, what do you say about the religion of these Christians?" He said: "My son, if these Christians remained on the original religion of Jesus, then they would have been on God's religion, because the religion of Jesus and all the other Prophets is the true religion of God.
But they changed it and became unbelievers." I asked him: "Then, sir, what is the salvation from this?" He said "Oh my son, embracing Islam." I asked him: "Will the one who embraces Islam be saved?" He answered: "Yes, in this world and the next." I said: "The prudent chooses for himself; if you know, sir the merit of Islam, then what keeps you from it?" He answered: "My son, the Almighty Allah did not expose me to the truth of Islam and the Prophet of Islam until after I have become old and my body weakened. Yes, there is no excuse for us in this; on the contrary, the proof of Allah has been established against us. If God had guided me to this when I was your age, I would have left everything and adopted the religion of truth. Love of this world is the essence of every sin, and look how I am esteemed, glorified and honoured by the Christians, and how I am living in affluence and comfort!
In my case, if I show a slight inclination towards Islam they would kill me immediately. Suppose that I was saved from them and succeeded in escaping to the Muslims, they would say, do not count your Islam as a favour upon us, rather you have benefited yourself only by entering the religion of truth, the religion that will save you from the punishment of Allah! So I would live among them as a poor old man of more than ninety years, without knowing their language, and would die among them starving. I am, and all praise is due to Allah, on the religion of Christ and on that which he came with, and Allah knows that from me." So I asked him: "Do you advise me to go to the country of the Muslims and adopt their religion?" He said to me: "If you are wise and hope to save yourself, then race to that which will achieve benefit for you in this life and the next.
But my son, none is present with us concerning this matter; it is between you and me only. Exert yourself and keep it a secret. If it is disclosed and the people know about it they will kill you immediately. I will be of no benefit to you against them. Neither will it be of any use to you if you tell them what you heard from me concerning Islam, or that I encouraged you to be a Muslim, for I shall deny it. They trust my testimony against yours. So do not tell a word, whatever happens." I promised him not to do so. He was satisfied and content with my promise.
And I began to prepare for my journey and bid him farewell. He gave me fifty golden dinars & then I took a ship to the city of Majorca where I stayed with my parents for six months. Then I travelled to Sicily and remained there for five months, waiting for a ship bound for the land of the Muslims. Finally a ship arrived bound for Tunis." Anyway he goes on to mention how he went to Tunis & he got off the ship & the Christian scholars who heard of his arrival came to greet him, because he was famous, he had become famous by this time for his knowledge. And so the Christians scholars came to greet him. But instead indeed he went to embrace Islam.
So this is the story of Anselm Tormeeda & of course how he recognised, how his teacher had recognised that Paraclete was in fact Prophet Muhammad as had been mentioned in the Injil. Join us next time for another episode of the "Proof that Islam is the Truth". And until then Assalamaleykum Arahmatullahi va Barakatu, may the peace & blessings of Allah be with you always & may Allah guide us all closer to the Truth.
